Dunn: OCC football reunion brings back memories

The only two guys to play both sides of the ball, Larry Findley and Joe Scott, shake hands at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER

Even during its closest call, a perfect season was never in doubt for the 1963 Orange Coast College football team.

“That was a magical year in ’63,” former OCC assistant coach George Mattias said Saturday night during a 50-year reunion of the Pirates’ national championship team.

The closest call occurred in Week 4 as a Fullerton wide receiver dropped a potential game-tying pass near the goal line in the closing moments of the Pirates’ 13-6 road win, propelling OCC to a 10-0 campaign and the first of the school’s two national titles.

OCC running back and defensive back Joe Scott, the team’s co-captain and one of only two two-way starters for the Pirates, said the pass to the Fullerton receiver was “right there” as Scott demonstrated by maneuvering his hands in an ideal catching position, stomach high, to grab a flying pigskin. On the next play, Scott intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it to the OCC 21-yard line before the Pirates ran out the clock and clinched a huge win.

OCC head coach Dick Tucker said the Pirates were “lucky” to beat the Hornets in Week 4 because “Fullerton dropped a pass in the end zone in the closing moments.” But it didn’t seem to matter to some of the OCC players whether the Hornets scored on the play.

“Yeah, that (dropped pass) would have tied the game up, but we still would have beaten them,” said OCC’s other two-way starter, Larry Findley, a defensive tackle and offensive guard who now lives in Utah. “Fullerton was the first team to score against us (after the Pirates opened the magical season with three consecutive shutouts). Our defense really only gave up 17 points the whole season, because there were 24 points scored against our nonstarters.”

There were 17 former players, coaches or players’ relatives representing members of the ’63 squad at the reunion.

“It was our year,” Scott said. “Nobody was dominant. The team was dominant, not any individuals. There was no O.J. Simpson. But the team was darn dominant.”

Orange Coast, which also won a national championship in 1975, defeated Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, 21-0, in the Junior Rose Bowl game in Pasadena to crown the ’63 season and finish atop the national rankings.

“Everybody was a star on that ’63 team,” said OCC’s All-American quarterback Billy White, named the Most Valuable Player of the 1963 Junior Rose Bowl game. “I don’t think people realize – if they haven’t looked at the scores of our 10-0 record – that we had six shutouts. That tells you something about our defense. Our defense was really outstanding, so if they get you the ball (as an offensive player), you’ve got to do something with it.”

Added Scott: “We could’ve won six games with touchbacks, because all we needed were two points in each of those (shutout) wins. Our toughest game was Fullerton, but we squeaked by them.”

White, also a former coach for many schools, is living the dream of retirement these days in Temecula and playing golf three times a week. But he was beaming Saturday night like a kid in a candy store while reliving the undefeated, untied football campaign of ’63.

“That Fullerton game was a barnburner,” White said. “(The Hornets) were really revved up for us. They just played good football and had good personnel. Nobody compared to them. But we got a little lucky on a couple of touchdowns, one from Joe Scott and one from Mike Hunter.”

Hunter, a running back who later played at USC, said Scott was the “toughest snot on the whole field,” while former OCC tight end Mike Fazio added that playing for Tucker was an inspiration.

“You know how much we loved playing for Coach Tucker?” Fazio said. “We all enjoyed playing for him. And the fact that we won all the time was sweet.”

The only two guys to play both sides of the ball, Larry Findley and Joe Scott, shake hands at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
The Silver Cup, game ball and reprinted program from the 1963 Junior Rose Bowl game were displayed Saturday at a reunion for OCC's 1963 football team during the current OCC team's game against Long Beach City College. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
Some old photos, a few of players who have passed on, were taped to the wall at the reunion for OCC's1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning football team. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
At the reunion for the 1963 OCC football team on Saturday, family and friends of former players look at the reprinted program from the 1963 Junior Rose Bowl game. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
Ron Cray, a former OCC defensive end, shakes hands with his old head coach Dick Tucker at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team on Saturday. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
At right, Billy White, former OCC quarterback, swaps stories with Mike Hunter, former OCC running back, at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team on Saturday. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
Mike Hunter, former OCC running back, and Billy White, former OCC quarterback, share some laughs at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team on Saturday. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER
Mike Fazio, former OCC tight end, talks about a certain pass play from that game in 1963 with former head coach Dick Tucker, left, and Mike Hunter, former OCC running back center, at the reunion for the Orange Coast College 1963 Junior Rose Bowl winning team Saturday. CHAS METIVIER, FOR THE REGISTER

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